


Just to Try

by makingitwork



Series: Bughead Prompts [42]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: AU, Best Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fluff, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Betty, Oblivious Jughead, One Shot, Pining, baker betty, bughead - Freeform, preslash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-12
Updated: 2018-09-12
Packaged: 2019-07-11 10:02:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15970058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makingitwork/pseuds/makingitwork
Summary: Veronica wants Betty and Jughead to get together.





	Just to Try

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy!

The base was spongy and light. It sprang back with amber strength when Betty pressed her hand flat against it and she beamed with delight. Turning, with the silver tray brandished proudly in her hands, she gaped at the sight of her other two layers already partially devoured by her best friend. "Jughead!" She exclaimed, mildly annoyed, mostly amused. "I was going to use those." 

He nodded at her understandingly; crumbs cascading down his lips and tumbling along his chin. "I uh-" he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, "forgot?" 

She rolled her eyes, setting down the base and reaching for a knife. Jughead watched amusedly as she sawed the vanilla flavoured-cake right in half, sliding one semi-circle towards him. She picked the other, gigantic half up in her dainty hand, and began nibbling on it. At his look, she half shrugged and leaned forward, resting both elbows on the counter. "It was only for practise anyway. As nice as Veronica's kitchen is, all my stuff for decorating is at the shop. It'd go stale by then." She took another delicate bite.

Jughead was much less graceful, grabbing his half with both hands and gnawing into the middle like a beaver. "You don't need to practise," he managed through muffled bites, "you're already amazing. The best baker in all of Brooklyn." He declared fancifully. 

The blonde snorted elegantly, eyes twinkling. "Well then you're the best cake-eater." 

He patted his flat stomach proudly. "Wouldn't have it any other way." 

"Oh my god," Veronica drawled, gliding into the room clad in her satin pyjamas. A sleeping mask rested on her forehead and there was splotches of white cream over her tanned skin. "You two are  _so_ in love." She explained, mostly to herself. She padded over to the refrigerator and reached in for the milk jug. Betty and Jughead eyed her warily. "And why are you both even still awake? Go to sleep. You can share a bed." She wiggled her eyebrows enticingly, but the effect was somewhat lessened when matched with her milk moustache. 

The baker blushed, shaking her head. "We are not in love, V." 

"Betty's my best friend," Jughead said simultaneously and more assuredly. "We are not secretly in love like you and Archie so desperately want." 

Veronica scowled. "I don't want you together just for the amazing double-date excursions, but you are in love." She lifted her nose, sniffing superiorly. "You just can't accept it because you're thick. How is that my fault?" 

Betty and Jughead met each others eyes in exasperation. "We're not 'thick', V." Betty sighed. "Jughead is working on his phD and I got a higher SAT score than you-"

"Betty quite literally has her own business." Jughead pointed out, "and she did it all by herself. No help from daddy or anything." He gave Veronica a warning look, and the ex-New Yorker lifted her hands in surrender. Her opal eyes still flickered between the two of them, and a small smirk toyed around her lips. Wordlessly, she walked over to one of kitchen drawers, wincing at the bright under-cabinet lights, and pulled out a pamphlet. She tossed it to Betty. It fluttered through the air aimlessly and landed on the ground. 

Betty shook her head, bending down to pick up the paper and scanning it curiously. Her eyes widened. "This is the  _La Tampa."_ She whispered, looking up at Veronica aghast. "You know I've wanted to go to this restaurant for months! Why do you have this? It's meant to be the best restaurant in town but it's always fully booked and....and..."

The raven-haired girl smiled sweetly, shrugging. "You guys are such good friends, right? And just friends? I have a reservation for two tomorrow evening. You could both go.  _As friends."_

Jughead chewed the insight of his mouth thoughtfully, looking between his two friends, the pamphlet, and still-uneaten half of Betty's cake. Betty's wide blue eyes looked at him; a mixture of hope and doubt. Veronica looked unbearably smug. He shrugged, half nodding. "We could go as friends, right, Betts? If the reservations already booked and Veronica's busy..." 

"Super busy." She lied, cocking her head challengingly. 

He squinted his eyes at her, but didn't push it. "Sounds good, then." 

Betty squealed in delight, waving the glossy sheet in the air. 

 

"I'm sorry I'm late!" Betty gushed, hurriedly sliding into the seat opposite him and glancing around.  _La Tampa_ was just as elegantly beautiful and sheer as all the reviews had described. Dim lights sparkled onto burgundy furnishings, with brass and gold fixtures sprinkled here and there. Immense chandeliers hung from the ceiling and immaculate, elaborate candlesticks lined the sills. The small, intimate tables were spaced far enough apart as to provide a sense of intimacy despite the silent waiters that swam as graceful as otters between the satin table cloths. Her gaze finally landed on the man opposite her, and she smiled widely. Jughead looked nice. Gone were his usual slacks and plaid and in their place: a white button up shirt with black suspenders and a bow tie. His suit jacket hung over the back of his chair and his hair was tousled to perfection. "You look so smart, Juggie," she whispered, as the waiter who had guided her over handed them two menus within hard-back shells. 

He shrugged bashfully, clearly slightly unused to the attire. He took in her long blue dress. It was gorgeous. She was gorgeous. Her hair fell in perfect golden curls around her shoulders, and her skin looked like fresh cream offset against the cobalt silk. It dipped between her breasts tastefully, and he wondered whether this was one of Veronica's gowns, or whether Betty could make anything look tasteful and expensive. "You look nice too." He managed, voice a little hoarse. He reached for his water and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Even the water tasted better here. "Should we uh- order?" He glanced up at the waiter, who was standing beside their table; still as stone. 

Betty met his eyes and they both hid their grins behind their menus. "Good idea." She giggled, scanning the options. "I already know what I want. Should I order for both of us?" 

Jughead closed his menu with a flourish and set it down. "Brilliant idea." He decided, mostly because he trusted Betty's impeccable judgement but also because the entire menu had been in French. 

As the waiter left, they exchanged stories about their day, before reaching a silence that was surprising and annoying. It hung heavy between them; stilted. Betty winced, unable to let Jughead keep filling the void by crunching on bread sticks. They'd already had two baskets. "This is awkward, isn't it?" She whined, knowing as soon as she said it that it was true. 

He groaned, shoulders sagging as if he'd been waiting for her to say it. "Only because Veronica has made this all weird." He replied, swiping his hand through his hair. "She keeps putting all this pressure on us. We're just really great friends. Why can't she get that?"

"Best friends." Betty nodded in agreement. 

Silence once again took a seat at the dinner table, an unwelcome third guest.

She weighed the idea in her mind, before sighing. "Maybe Veronica's right," she offered, trying her best to stay brave when Jughead flashed her a look of surprise. She hurried to elaborate. "I just mean, well...how often is Veronica actually wrong?" Betty couldn't think of a time. "If she says she sees something here," she gestured between the two of them, "do you think maybe we should...at least think about it?" She bit her bottom lip nervously, scanning Jughead's face.

It was frustrating to admit that Jughead couldn't think of a moment where Veronica had been wrong. "I guess." He grumbled, before meeting Betty's eyes. He returned her smile. "I mean, dating you wouldn't be awful. You're pretty and smart and we get along." He could feel the heat rising to his cheeks and he reached for more water desperately.

She nodded enthusiastically. "No, no, I completely get it. I think you're attractive, and, and smart too. And we definitely get along." Betty winced as she finished, tempted to bury her face in her hands.

They frowned at each other. Jughead could feel a tightness in his shoulders that he'd never felt before. "Maybe we could...I don't know. Maybe we should kiss or something." He grated stiffly. "See if we have any chemistry." The words sounded stupid now they were said aloud, but he couldn't pull them back.

"Um..." Betty puffed out her cheeks as she let out a considering breath. "That's not a terrible idea." 

He lifted his eyebrows. "Gee. Thanks." He teased.

"I didn't mean it like that-"

He cut her off with a wave of his hand. "I know, Betts," he said more softly. "We don't have to, but then at least we'll know for sure. And proving Veronica wrong wouldn't be so bad." 

"I mean, if you think about it," Betty mused, "it's a win-win situation. If we kiss and feel nothing, Veronica was wrong and she has to stop teasing us. But if we kiss and feel something, we get a relationship." A thought occurred to her. "A happy relationship. I would be a very good girlfriend." 

He scoffed. "You would be an  _amazing_ girlfriend. Just a good a girlfriend as you are a best friend." He lifted his glass, and she lifted hers; they clinked loudly. He took a big gulp of the icy water. "So uh- end of the night though, right?" 

"Definitely." Betty whimpered, downing the remainder of her glass. 

 

After good food, good wine and non-stilted conversation, the end of the night came. Jughead and Betty stood in the crisp night air side by side, staring up at the stars nervously. He turned to look at her. Her bottom lip was wobbling and her eyes were fixed firmly on the sky. "Betty," he whispered softly, resting his hand on her arm. "We don't have to do this, you know. Just because Veronica thinks she's a god, doesn't mean she is. We don't have to prove her right or wrong." 

Betty huffed a quiet laugh, turning to face him. Her eyes outshone the diamonds in her dress. "I wanna know, Juggie," she admitted; cheeks rouge. "I mean, haven't you ever really wondered about us?" She touched her own heart, and then reached out to touch his, leaving her hand on the warmth of his chest. "We've been best friends for so long, Just as long as Archie and Veronica. One day they realised they'd been in love the entire time and they're so happy. Don't you wanna see if it's like that for us? What we are?" Betty breathed in deeply, she could smell his cologne and deodorant. She'd never been closer emotionally to anyone than Jughead.

He swallowed thickly, nodding. "Yeah," he breathed truthfully. "I have wondered." 

Her smile was beautiful. 

After a beat, he leaned down, hands by his side. She tiptoed up; one hand on his chest, the other twitching uselessly in the air. Slowly, closer and closer together...

Their noses bumped hard.

Jughead pulled away; wincing, as Betty rubbed the bridge of her nose. They met each others eyes and broke into laughter. "Sorry, I went left-"

"No, I went right-"

"Okay, okay," Betty laughed, reaching her hand up to cup Jughead's cheek. "Let's try again." She said confidently.

He nodded gently, eyes fluttering shut as they leaned towards each other once more. He could feel the heat of her against him, their lips just a whisper away from each others-

the loud angry honk of a car horn had them leaping away from each other in fright. Betty could feel her heart pounding in her chest and she flustered in embarrassment. Jughead looked equally startled a few feet away. "This doesn't feel right," she admitted, and he nodded; echoing her thoughts. "Maybe we should leave it for tonight. There's too much pressure. It'll happen more naturally." 

"Will it?" Jughead asked so immediately she almost didn't catch it as she ended her sentence. When she did comprehend it, however, it drew her to a halt. She looked at him; wary. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and shrugged. "I don't know, Betty. If there is something between us then it's been there for some time, right? I'm not confident like Archie, and you're not..." he trailed off, unwilling to say it. 

Betty knew anyway. "I'm not bold like Veronica,"

He winced, but nodded. "If there is something, I'm just saying it's very like us to just let it pass us by. And that would be...I don't want that to happen." 

"So what do we do?" Betty asked despairingly, but Jughead didn't have an answer. She looked out at the darkness and the distant city lights. The dress was so figure hugging that every time she moved slightly the material would ripple and follow her step. She was uncomfortable, just like Jughead. A thought occurred to her. "We should go on another date," she said, as it dawned on her. "But to  _Pops._ Somewhere we're comfortable. Somewhere we can wear whatever we want." 

Jughead grasped at the idea eagerly. "Genius." He murmured, and they high-fived. 

 

Pop's Diner is mostly empty on Sunday night; most people have early starts on Monday. So Betty and Jughead have a booth all to themselves; a feast spread out between them. Betty's sitting cross legged on the plush red vinyl, her leggings stretching over her knee and her baggy sweater falling into her lap. She'd purposely not put as much effort into her choice of clothes; wearing what she'd wear at home. Her hair is twisted up into a messy knot, and she's working her way through another drumstick. She glances up at Jughead, and smiles at what she sees. He looks significantly more comfortable now than he did the other night. His beanie on, his crumpled plaid and his jeans. He's making love to a hamburger and blindly reaching for fries.

Betty nudges the basket towards him, and he makes a grunt of appreciation. "This is better, right?" She asks, afraid to ruin the good atmosphere. 

He sets down his burger, licking his fingers before wiping them on a napkin. "Yeah." He agrees happily, before catching her gaze. "Ah," he acknowledges once he realises. "But this isn't really a date, is it? We do this all the time." 

She sighs. "Sorry, Jug." 

He frowns. "What constitutes as a date, then? Do we have to go somewhere expensive? Do we have to dress up?" 

"I don't know," she insists. This is beginning to feel unbearably frustrating. She wants to go back to what they were before Veronica's stupid idea, but at the same time she's desperate to see if there's something there. "I'm going to the bathroom." She manages, fleeing from the booth. Jughead watches her go, before resting his head in his arms in defeat. Why is it so hard? Why can't they just be best friends forever? And yet...and yet there's the niggling feeling. The idea of Betty baking and then maybe kissing him. He likes the thought of being able to wrap his arm around her waist rather than sling it over her shoulder. He's trapped in a limbo of loving being Betty's best friend, and then wondering constantly what it might be like if they could be something more. 

Maybe they've missed their window of opportunity. Maybe Archie and Veronica timed it right and they've just missed their shot. 

But  _why?_ Why isn't he bold like Archie? He makes a decision. No matter what happens. He'll kiss Betty. 

As Betty comes out of the bathroom, having splashed her face with cold water, she's made a decision. She can be bold like Veronica. And she knows just how to do it. Jughead looks up, ready, as she approaches, but instead of sliding into the seat opposite, she comes into the bench right beside him. She catches his face in her hands, and he leans forward and kisses her hard. 

They both freeze in surprise, before Betty shuts her eyes and just gives into the feeling. He tastes of ketchup and milkshakes, and his lips are so much softer than she'd thought they'd be. She's kneeling awkwardly on the seat, and his face is all at a weird angle, and she doesn't think she'd give this up for all the world. Meanwhile, everything Jughead's ever known has left his head. All he knows is Betty. Her lips are cold, but plush and addictive. His arms wrap around her waist like he's always wanted, and they slip into their rhythm. Sweet and soft and perfect.

When they pull away, it's for air rather than out of choice. He stares up at her, breathing in raggedly, and her pupils are blown and her cheeks are red. "Well?" She squeaks nervously.

She's more beautiful now than he's ever seen, and he fists his hands into the baby-pink fabric of her sweater. He tugs her back down towards him. "There's something there." He whispers. 

When their lips meet again, it's two smiles being pressed together. One full of joy, the other full of contentment.

**Author's Note:**

> Comment?


End file.
